Scott Soshnick

“Sports is still a great unifier of people,” said Brian Rolapp, chief operating officer of National Football League Media and Harvard Business School graduate who previously worked in media investment banking at CIBC World Markets. “I don’t want to sound like an old man, but it seems like there’s fewer of those things, and there’s something very powerful about that.”

The challenge for league commissioners and team owners like former Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer, who has agreed to buy basketball’s Los Angeles Clippers for an NBA record $2 billion, is turning that power into profit.

“If you look at a lot of teams that have traded hands, the predominant cash flow of all these sports leagues are the media revenue,” Rolapp said. That’s no longer just the television set, which historically has been the principal method of delivering sports.

“You’re seeing the digital space, social media and streaming events, content in other forms increasing in dramatic numbers in terms of growth, and that’s made sports and sports franchises more valuable,” said National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman, who in 2013 signed a 12-year, $4.9 billion contract with Rogers Communications.